Luis Suarez fined for bite

Luis Suarez has been fined by Liverpool but told he has a future at the club after biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in a Premier League game on Sunday.

Suarez bites Otman Bakkal when playing for Ajax in 2011

Former Liverpool striker Ian Rush insists people should look at the positives in the aftermath of Luis Suarez's bite on Branislav Ivanovic.

Luis Suarez found himself in the familiar position
of being an outcast in English football on Monday, charged by the Football Association with violent conducts and fined by
Liverpool for biting an opponent a
day earlier.

"The charge follows an incident with Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in Sunday's fixture at Anfield," The FA said in a statement.

"The incident was not seen by the match officials and has therefore been retrospectively reviewed. It is alleged that the conduct of Suarez constitutes violent conduct and it is The FA's contention that the standard punishment of three matches that would otherwise apply is clearly insufficient in these circumstances."

Suarez has until Tuesday to respond to the charge.

In a Premier League match broadcast globally on Sunday, Suarez
bit Chelsea defender Ivanovic's arm. Although he escaped
punishment during the game, Suarez now faces a lengthy ban.

Liverpool moved swiftly to condemn Suarez on Monday not long
after being subject to widespread outrage for defending the striker
when he racially abused an opponent in 2011.

Suarez, who was also suspended for seven matches in 2010 while
playing for Ajax after biting a player, said he has been fined by
Liverpool for his "unacceptable behavior."

The sum was not disclosed, but clubs can fine players only two
weeks' worth of wages without seeking permission from the
Professional Footballers' Association.

On his Twitter and Facebook accounts, Suarez asked for the fine
to be donated to families affected by the 1989 Hillsborough Stadium
disaster, which killed 96 Liverpool supporters. He said it was
"for the inconvenience I have created to the Liverpool fans and to
Ivanovic."

"It is a nice gesture, but it is a terrible thing under the
circumstances," Hillsborough Families Support Group chairman
Margaret Aspinall said.

Suarez will not face a police investigation because Ivanovic
said he did not want to press charges.

"He had no apparent physical injuries and did not wish to make
a complaint," Merseyside Police said in a statement.

But Prime Minister David Cameron's office urged the English
Football Association to take action.

"It is rightly a matter for the football authorities to
consider," Cameron's office said. "As part of their
consideration, I think it would be very understandable if they took
into account the fact that high-profile players are often role
models."

Liverpool said it has no intention of selling its top scorer
despite the latest transgression.

"It affects his future in the sense that we have to work with
him on his discipline, but Luis is a very important player to the
club," Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre said. "He's a very
popular player with his teammates. As we keep saying, he signed a
new four-year contract last summer and we'd all love to see him
here throughout that contract."

Just why was clear on Sunday as he displayed the goal-scoring
instinct that has turned him into one of the most feared strikers
in England. After staying on the Anfield field despite the bite,
Suarez went on to score his 30th goal of the season -- a last-gasp
equalizer --- to clinch a 2-2 draw against Chelsea.

"He's a fantastic player, top scorer and everything we'd want
in a striker," Ayre said. "This is more about getting him back on
the right track."

The Professional Footballers' Association has offered Suarez the
services of counselors.

"There is no doubting his football ability, that's why it is so
disappointing and embarrassing when he lets himself down," PFA
chief executive Gordon Taylor said. "We have to work hard on anger
management now. We have trained counselors in this field and we
will be offering their services to Liverpool and the player to try
to improve matters."

Adidas took the rare step of speaking out against a player it
sponsors, saying it will talk to Suarez about his actions.
"Adidas does not condone Luis Suarez's behavior and we will be
reminding him of the standards we expect from our players," the
sports apparel company said in a statement.

After the first biting incident while at Ajax, trouble followed
Suarez to the English Premier League. He was suspended for eight
games in December 2011 for making racist insults toward Manchester
United defender Patrice Evra during a match.

Liverpool, which is owned by the Boston Red Sox ownership group,
provoked widespread outrage by initially backing Suarez after that
incident, but acted quickly this time in punishing the player.

"The most important thing is that we acted swiftly yesterday,"
Ayre said. "Luis issued his apology and then we spoke with him
last night and then again this morning ... you can see when you
speak to him how sorry he is about it and he's certainly shown
quite a lot of contrition to us."

With his scoring spree this season, Suarez was starting to
rehabilitate his damaged reputation.

His penchant for diving aside, even his critics had been
starting to warm to one of the world's most gifted players.

And this weekend he could collect the Player of the Year award
decided by his fellow footballers after making the shortlist based
on a PFA vote completed before Sunday's incident.